Inside PBS Blog

When I was growing up, my family always watched The Nutcracker on Christmas and West Side Story on New Year's Eve (on PBS, of course!). The music and the dancing in the two vastly different performances was familiar, magical and suited the season. Being introduced to dance and theater at a young age instilled a life-long love of both art forms.

Now, of course, I work at PBS, and am happy to find that its offerings in each genre go well beyond the two classics I enjoyed as a kid (though I was pleased to see that The Nutcracker is part of our December lineup). Here are a few highlights:

Musicals are one of the only truly American art forms, and Broadway: The American Musical takes a deep look at the history of the great white way.

(Don't miss the premiere of 42nd Street in 1933, the first rock & roll musical, Bye-Bye Birdie, in 1960, or the groundbreaking debut of Rent in 1996.)

For a taste of drama school, check out the scene studies from PBS Hollywood Presents, an expired show survived by a robust Web site. Don't miss the scene studies of performances by Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in The Gin Game and Linda Lavin and Samanta Morton in Collected Stories.

If ballet is your passion, you'll find a treasure trove of information about ballet dancers and performances past and present from Great Performances. Plus, get in-depth bios of Martha Graham, Jerome Robins and other masters of the performing arts.

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